5 Thoughts On The New “Avengers” Trailer

It doesn’t matter if it’s a blatant money grab; Marvel’s The Avengers is going to make for a great summer flick. Considering the quality of its predecessors (excluding Iron Man 2, which rides the short bus), there’s no reason to doubt that it will entertain. Here are several thoughts on the latest trailer, which did its part in getting me excited for the May 4th release.

1. Plot-wise, it still seems unclear which character, if any, will be the movie’s lead figure. A major, ongoing plot poitn of the Avengers comics is the complex Captain America/Iron Man relationship. If this is a true-to-form adaptation, expect Chris Evans and Robert Downey Jr. to spend a lot of time in the limelight.

2. I’m not sold on Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner. His acting is generally hit or miss, and he delivered his few lines in the trailer with the grace of a statue. “We’re not a team…we’re a time bomb.” Right. Edward Norton, you will be missed.

3. Out of all of the Avenger ‘prequels,’ Thor was definitely my favorite. We already know that Loki will be the film’s antagonist, so hopefully that lends itself to plenty of time for Chris Hemsworth to get some screen time. And if they included Natalie Portman, Thor’s love interest, well…I wouldn’t be mad.

4. The trailer is very intense. Part of Thor, Iron Man and Captain America’s charm came from a handful genuinely funny scenes. A lot of that appeal will be lost if the movie turns out to be Samuel L. Jackson screaming for two hours. However, Joss Whedon knows how to integrate some levity into his flicks so we may be in good hands in that regard.

5. Scarlett Johansson and Jeremy Renner are big names and everything, but I continue to not care about their characters, Black Widow and Hawkeye. Yes, I realize that they are traditional members of the team. But seeing the two ready a bow and a handgun next to heros like Thor and the Hulk was pretty far from intimidating.

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But as far as Hawkeye and Black Widow, they’re SHIELD agents. They aren’t gonna have superpowers. That’s what makes them unique. They are the “Batman” compared to the rest of the Justice League, so to speak. (Forgive the shoddy analogy, just watched Justice League Doom, highly recommended lol)

The Avengers “Trinity” of Cap-Thor-IM is important to the comic series but Hawkeye and Black Widow are mainstays for nearly 4 decades so don’t necessarily think their roles will be diminished. With that in mind, I believe the film will probably revolve around those three, since they are the bigger characters. But it would be a loss on Whedon’s part to not flesh out Hawkeye, Black Widow, and perhaps Nick Fury sequels or spin-offs.

It will actually be interesting to see how Whedon plays with the idea of human/non-powered Avengers. In the comics, there are some great stories were human heroes shine through fortitude and ingenuity. I hope they actually give Black Widow something better than a normal pistol or at least indicate that its more powerful than a normal one (perhaps a Widow’s sting? Flechette gun?)

Going off the previous work of Whedon’s, I think we can assume (at least hope) that Sam Jack won’t be his usual yelling self. Some genuine Nick Fury moments for him (as well as some moments for Maria Hill) would be great and sell it as a true ensemble film.

Renner and Johansson have shown before that they can act, so at least I hope they do their roles justice. Renner really has the charisma and chops to be Hawkeye.

My biggest concern is the juggling of so many pieces and will there be sprinkling of Easter Eggs like with the other films (I really hope we get some stuff like Project Pegasus, name drop a writer or two, set up Wakanda fully, talk about some potential other Avengers, etc).

We’re comic fans and movie fans. There is no either/or. See both. See them all if you so wish. No need to support one franchise and not another as if your backing will make a difference in what is more successful. Enjoy that things we grew up with can actually have this much production to visualize our dreams of seeing them on the big screen

The main character will be Cap which makes alot of sense. He will be like the general audience who may noy know whats going on. But i cant wait for this movie ( Bruce Banner aside ) Can already tell Hulk will only be at the end of the movie